BEARS ANNOUNCE OPENING NIGHT ROSTER

October 3, 2013

HERSHEY, Pa. – The Hershey Bears announced today the full group of players which will comprise the club’s opening night roster.  The announcement was made by Bears President/GM Doug Yingst.
 
The complete roster is as follows, and is also attached:
 
 
GOALTENDERS (2):Philipp Grubauer, David Leggio
 
DEFENSEMEN (11):Julien Brouillette, Michal Cajkovsky, Chay Genoway, David Kolomatis, Tomas Kundratek, Dmitry Orlov, Cameron Schilling, Nate Schmidt, Tyson Strachan, Patrick Wellar, Patrick Wey
 
FORWARDS (18):Josh Brittain, Dane Byers, Nicolas Deschamps, Stanislav Galiev, Jamie Johnson, Michael Latta, Peter LeBlanc, Garrett Mitchell, John Mitchell, Joel Rechlicz, Tyler Ruegsegger, Brandon Segal, Ryan Stoa, Jeff Taffe, Nathan Walker, Matt Watkins, Casey Wellman, Derek Whitmore
 
 
Of the 31 players on the team roster, 18 played all or part of the 2012-13 season in Chocolatetown.
 
In all, the roster features 13 players born in Canada, 12 who hail from the United States, two from Russia and one each from the Czech Republic, Germany and Slovakia.
 
One player is also bidding to become the first native of Australia to play in the American Hockey League.  Forward Nathan Walker, who was born in Cardiff, Wales, moved to Australia and has resided there since his early youth.
 
Head coach Mike Haviland and assistant coach Ryan Mougenel are set to make their debuts behind the bench, as the Hershey Bears open their 76^th season of play in the AHL this Saturday at 7:00 PM against the Adirondack Phantoms.  The first 8,000 fans will receive a magnetic schedule courtesy of PNC Bank.  On Saturday and during all 76 regular-season games, fans may also listen to the live game broadcasts on the Hershey Bears Radio Network of affiliates WQIC-FM 100.1, WTKT-AM 1460, WRBT-94.9 FM HD-2 and via the iHeart Radio application for Apple and Android devices.  “Voice of the Bears” Scott Stuccio returns for his third season in Chocolatetown and his seventh season in the American Hockey League.
 
 
Individual tickets for Saturday and for all 2013-2014 Hershey Bears regular season games are on sale at the GIANT Center box office, by calling (717) 508-BEAR, or by visiting TicketMaster.com on the internet.  Information on full season, 22-game, 12-game and flex plans, as well as group packages, are available by calling (717) 508-BEAR.